The Cico Chert Source on San Miguel Island, California
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UC Merced Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology Title The Cico Chert Source on San Miguel Island, California Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5z14f4sf Journal Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology, 19(1) ISSN 0191-3557 Authors Erlandson, Jon M Kennett, Douglas J. Behl, Richard J et al. Publication Date 1997-07-01 Peer reviewed eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California 124 JOURNAL OF CALIFORNIA AND GREAT BASIN ANTHROPOLOGY The Cico Chert Source on San especially important on many of the California Miguel Island, California islands, where native peoples were relatively isolated and had access to a limited variety of JON M. ERLANDSON terrestrial foods and lithic sources. Dept. of Anthropology, Univ. of Oregon, Eugene, OR In the archaeological record, some of the 97403. more important and traceable manufacturing ma DOUGLAS J. KENNETT Dept. of Anthropology, Univ. of Califomia, Santa terials are various siliceous rock types used to Barbara, CA 93106. make flaked stone tools. Recenfly, lithic use RICHARD J. BEHL patterns on the Northern Channel Islands have Dept. of Geological Sciences, Califomia State Univ., played a central role in discussions of the de Long Beach, CA 90840-3902. velopment of Chumash complexity. As Arnold IAN HOUGH (1987, 1990, 1992) has shown, die use of local Dept. of Anthropology, Univ. of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403. ized chert outcrops on Santa Cruz Island was crucial to the specialized and intensive produc A major source of high quality chert was tion of microblade drUls used to make shell recently identified on San Miguel Island, beads. According to Arnold (1992:73), on Santa where archaeological sites spanning much of Cruz Island "Late period microblade manufac the Holocene contain artifacts of this same material. Some varieties of this translucent turers were legitimate craft specialists, control chert are macroscopically similar to Santa ling access to the single chert-source area on the Cruz Island chert, leading to possible confu islands and producing large quantities of stan sion about the origin of some Channel Island dardized microlidis solely in a small zone on the lithic assemblages. Preliminary petrographic studies suggest that Cico cherts can be differ northeastern shore of the island." Until recent entiated from Santa Cruz Island cherts micro ly, these Santa Cruz Island quarries were scopically, but additional research is needed thought to be the only significant sources of to document the variability inherent in both quality chert available to the island Chumash chert types. Although the Chumash appear to have used Cico chert to make microblade (e.g., Arnold 1987; Rozaire 1993:63). drills and shell beads, the extent of such activ During recent work on the Northern Channel ities has yet to be determined. Islands, however, we discovered another source of high-quality chalcedonic chert on San Miguel AT the time of European contact, the Chumash Island (Fig. 1). This chert source is important and their coastal southern California neighbors because: (1) it extends the distribution and were among the most culturally complex of Cali availability of quality siliceous toolstone on the fornia societies. This complexity is seen in the Northern Channel Islands; (2) archaeological archaeological and historical records in the form data indicate that it was widely used on San Mi of high population densities, hierarchical social guel Island, with the earliest evidence beginning organization, craft specialization, intensive trade, 10,000 or more years ago; (3) it overlaps in ma and use of shell bead currencies. A crucial as croscopic appearance with Santa Cruz Island pect of reconstructing the development and chert—a source of potential confusion in recon structure of socioeconomic complexity lies in structing Chumash trade and resource use pat understanding patterns of resource use in various terns; and (4) it appears to have been used to areas and the trade and other interaction patterns manufacture microblade bead drills by Late Peri tiiat developed to redistribute materials between od populations on San Miguel Island. various social groups. The exchange of raw ma In this report, we summarize the information terials and manufactured goods may have been available about the location and geological con- REPORTS 125 San Miguel Island ^ Sand Spit N % Arcliaeological Site I * Chert Source Point Bennettol Adnm's Cove Cardwcll Point Fig. 1. The locations of Cico chert outcrops on San Miguel Island. text of the Cico chert source, discuss the macro numbers of artifacts made from a distinctive scopic and microscopic characteristics of the translucent chert—white, buff, gray, or brown in chert, provide evidence for its widespread and color—on the surface of several sites along the long-term use at sites on San Miguel Island, and northeast coast of the island. A large Middle suggest some potential avenues for further re Holocene "red abalone" midden (CA-SMI-161; search. It should be stressed that our studies see Fig. 1) located near the east end of Cuyler have thus far been limited primarily to archaeo Harbor, for instance, had numerous large cores logical and geological reconnaissance surveys, and other artifacts of this chalcedonic chert on background research, and preliminary petro its surface. Some of the cores superficially re graphic analysis of cherts from San Miguel and sembled Santa Cruz Island chert, but were of a Santa Cruz islands. Since a detailed analysis of quality that seemed unlikely to have been im such topics could take several years, this initial ported from Santa Cruz Island quarries without report allows the discovery of Cico chert to be further reduction. At other sites on the east end incorporated into rapidly developing models of of San Miguel Island, we continued to find large Santa Barbara Channel prehistory. numbers of artifacts made from this translu cent—and often high quality—chert. THE REDISCOVERY OF CICO CHERT Site records from earlier San Miguel Island WhUe working on San Miguel Island from surveys (e.g.. Greenwood 1978; Rozaire 1978) 1992 to 1996, we were surprised to find large contained references to chert cobbles that were 126 JOURNAL OF CALIFORNIA AND GREAT BASIN ANTHROPOLOGY observed on the beach near the east end of Cuy the northeast coast of San Miguel Island. Intact ler Harbor. Site records from the lower Willow chert veins are composed of clear to cloudy gray Canyon area in the northeast part of the island quartz cutting through a volcaniclastic conglom also had numerous references to cores and debi- erate exposed above Glass Float Beach near the tage of translucent chert. Searching the shore east end of the island (Source A, Fig. 1). Here, line east of Cuyler Harbor in 1993, we found no veins of chalcedonic chert two to five cm. thick chert cobbles, but a survey of the northeast coast form a set of parallel, subvertical sheets, trend proved more productive. Here, two outcrops of ing roughly east to west. Vein material appears chert were located north and west of Cardwell to be similar in composition to the quartz cement Point, along with cobbles or small boulders binding the volcaniclastic cobbles, and veins found on the beach near the base of Cardwell range from massive to separate distinct and ir Point itself (Fig. 1). The most extensive of these regular (botryoidal) layers. Locally, the veins was a talus slope exposed by shoreline erosion include layers rich in pyrite that are gray to below Fish Ridge, where numerous angular cob black in appearance, or brecciated fragments of ble or boulder-sized clasts of translucent chert the host rock. Because of their similar appear were found eroding from sea cliff exposures. ance and because the composition of the talus One large, angular chert block that was found on suggests that much of the debris was also de the beach immediately below this talus slope was rived from the San Miguel volcanics conglomer estimated to weigh several hundred kilograms. ate, the talus clasts (Source B, Fig. 1) probably On the ridge immediately above and west of this have a similar origin as the veins. Some of the source, a dense deposit of Cico chert core reduc chert talus clasts are much larger than any of the tion debris (CA-SMI-169; see Fig. 1) was noted. exposed veins, however, and are probably de This deposit extended for several hundred meters rived from thicker veins now eroded from Fish along the crest of Fish Ridge between about 60 Ridge or buried under accumulating talus. m. and 75 m. above sea level. Like Santa Cruz Island cherts (Arnold 1987: Later in 1993, Don Morris (personal commu 97), die quality of Cico chert nodules varies nication, 1993) advised us that a diver had considerably. The materials observed to date brought a block of similar chert to the Santa are primarily massive rather than bedded or Barbara Museum of Natural History. This mate banded. Fist-sized or larger clasts of Cico chert rial had reportedly been exposed in a rock ledge often contain small, irregular voids or inclusions submerged off Cardwell Point. Knowing that of oxidized minerals. From most large clasts, this distinctive chert was used by the Chumash however, it is possible to obtain relatively large for mUlennia prior to our own "discovery," we cores or flakes of high-quality chalcedonic chert. christened it Cico chert—an abbreviated version Archaeological occurrences and replicative ex of Ciquimmuymu, the Chumash word for San periments show that this material is suitable for Miguel Island, as recorded in the accounts of making a variety of macrolithic and microlithic Cabrillo's voyage of 1542 (King 1975:177). artifact types. Macroscopically, large pieces of Cico chert CICO CHERT: GEOLOGICAL are clearly distinct from classic Monterey and CONTEXT AND CHARACTERISTICS Franciscan cherts of the mainland coast.